OVAS News January 2012 - Otter Valley Aquarium Society

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OT
OTHER LOCAL NEC SOCIETIES’ EVENTS
• TUE - JAN 3 PIONEER VALLEY AS TBA Usually meets 1st Tuesday of the month
at the Springfield Science Museum, 21 Edwards St., Springfield, MA at 7:00pm. Free
parking in lot. Public welcome.More info
contact: Dave & Linda Giza (413) 283-8680
or email: mike@berkshiredesign.com, or for
directions go to pvas.net
• WED - JAN 11 NEW HAMPSHIRE AS TBA Meets 2nd Wednesday of the month at
7pm at Somersworth High School in room 110.
Located just off of route 9 in the town of Somersworth, NH. For more info.
NewHampshireAquariumSociety.com
• Sun - JAN 12 TROPICAL FISH CLUB
OF BURLINGTON - TBA Meetings usu-
ally held the 2nd Thursday of the month.
Held at the VFW Hall, 73 pearl St., Essex
Junction, VT. Free parking in the back.
Contact David Banks for info 802-372-8716 or
dbanks@together.net or www.tfcb.org
• FRI - JAN 13 BROOKLYN AS
Joe Yaiullo- 11 years of feeding L.I.
Aquarium & Exhibition Center’s 20, 000
Gal. Reef Tank Meets 2nd Friday of the
month at 7:30pm at NY Aquarium, Bklyn, NY.
More info: BrooklynAqauriumSociety.org
• THUR - JAN 19 NORWALK AS -TBA
Meets the 3rd Thursday of the month at
Earthplace, The Nature Discovery Center, 10
Woodside Lane, Westport, CT. Open to public.
MORE info: Norwalkas.org
• FRI - JAN 27 DANBURY AREA AS TBA Generally meets 4th Friday of the
month at Carmel Ambulance Corps Vink
Dr., Carmel, NY. For more info: Rich Litsky (845) 228-0372 or Joe Masi (845) 8964793 or daas@northeastcouncil.org.
or daas@northeastcouncil.org.
TER VALLEY
WATERLINE
AQUARIUM SOCIETY
VOL. 5 • JANUARY 2012 • NO. 1
JANUARY 10
• SUN - JAN 29 GREATER HARTFORD AS
3rd ANNUAL TROPICAL FUSH &
AQUARIUM EQUIPMENT AUCTION
Free to public. Viewing of lots 10 am 10:30am Auction begins at Noon. At The
American Legion 154 Porter Pass Kensington, CT 06037 Auction begins at Noon.
For Info & directions visit
www.ghasct.org.
MEETING START @ 7PM
MARTHA MORRIS
TOPIC OF THE EVENING
-
YES, I would like to become a member. Here’s my check
for a one year membership. Please mail my membership
card to the address bellow.
Name___________________________Occupation_________________
Address________________________________City_________________
State____Zip______Phone______________Email__________________
Membership: Individual $20_____Family $25____Student $10_____
Make check out to; Otter Valley Aquarium Society Mail to:
OVAS, Tom Conway, 90 Center Street, Rutland, VT 05701
T
he Otter Valley Aquarium Society is
dedicated to educating those seeking
knowledge in the breeding, raising
and conservation of exotic tropical
fish and aquatic plants in the home
aquarium. We meet the second Tuesday
of each month at the Maclure Library in
Pittsford, VT, at 7:00pm. Featuring
knowledgeable speakers, a Q & A
session, plus a tropical fish auction.
Meet friendly aquarists and learn
more about how to care for your fish.
Free refreshments.
Meetings open to the public.
For information call,
Bob Hooker @ 802 483-6739
ar !
Otter Valley Aquarium Society • MEMBERSHIP
About The Otter Valley
Aquarium Society
Ye
w
e
N
y
p
p
Ha
MEMBERSHIP •
• Something Fishy Aquarium Sales Inc.,
219 Mohawk Ave., Scotia, NY 12302
Ph: 518.346.FISH -- 10% discount.
• The Pet Advantage, 350 Dorset St.,
S. Burlington, VT, 05403 Ph: 802 860-1714.
15% discount with your OVAS membership card.
Store hours M-F 10am-9pm Sat 10am-8pm Sun
11am-5pm.
• Whitehall Pet & Supply Inc.,
9869 State Rte 4, Whitehall, NY 12887. Ph: 518.499.1990
10% discount with your present OVAS membership card.
OTTER VALLEY A QU ARIUM SOCIET Y
24 7 MIDDLETO WN R O AD
S. L O NDO N D ER RY, V T 0 515 5
Pet Shops That Give OVAS Members Discounts
• Aquatic Wildlife, 179D Deming St., Manchester, CT,
06040 Ph: 860.648.1166 aquaticwildlifecompany.com -25% off dry goods, 30% discount off livestock.
• Benson’s Pet Center, 12 Fine Road, Clifton Park,
NY, 12065 - 10% Discount.
• Claremont Pet & Aquarium Center,
201 Washington St., Claremont, NH. Ph: 603.543.1889
10% discount on dry goods only.
• Lebanon Pet & Aquarium Center,
196 S. Main St., West Lebanon, NH. Ph: 603.298.8789
10% discount on dry goods only.
• FISH, PLANT & DRY GOODS AUCTION •
50/50 AUCTION OR DONATION YOUR CHOICE
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Notes & News of Fishy Events in 2012
Notes From The President
W
elcome to the New Year! We
have a great line up of speakers
and recorded presentations
for our 2012 OVAS season, and then
there is our second annual fish and
dry-goods auction set for May 20th.
I hope that you will be able to join
us in Pittsford for the lecture
events and at the Holiday Inn in
Rutland for the auction
We start off the year by
meeting at a new location. But
just for the month of January.
We have a great opportunity to pair
up a highly regarded speaker and a
fish-room tour in the same evening (January 10th at 7:00
pm). Joan Snider has graciously offered to open her
home to our group as host for this month’s speaker
who will talk on keeping Discus in the home tank. Joan
is a great fan of Discus and has a school of them in her
fabulous 220-gallon tank. In fact, there were Discus eggs
being laid right before my very eyes when I last visited!
Since this newsletter is distributed to the general public
at 12 area pet shops, and other venues around the area,
we are not publishing directions to Joan’s home here.
Please call me at 802-483-6739, or email me at the address
in the next column for directions.
I hope that you all had a great holiday season.
For me the Christmas/New Years holiday always seems
to be a strange combination of stress (getting ready for
everything) and relaxation and joy at having family and
friends to visit with. I love all of the
cooking and shopping and
excitement but it all happens in
such a condensed format that it
leaves me looking forward to
getting back to my regular routine
at the office so I can rest up.
(Don’t tell my boss I just said that.)
The December OVAS meeting
was a time for reviewing our
options and making choices for speakers
for the coming year, as well as plans for
other projects too. Everyone had valuable
input and you will be reading more about all
of that in future newsletters so stay tuned. We
also had our traditional holiday meal with lots of great
side dishes and a big, deluxe lasagna. There were a couple of bottles of wine, some diet Coke, and plenty of
sweet treats at the end. Joan Snider was in the holiday
spirit and handed out free bags of plants that she had
weeded out of her huge 220-gallon tank. (Thanks Joan!).
Hope to see you all at the January meeting.
Contact me for directions.
Happy NEW YEAR
Bob Hooker
bjhookervt@gmail.com
April 7 - 8, 2012 Eastern Iowa Aquarium Association
Tropical Fish Show with cash prizes. for more information: www.finflap.com
April 29, 2012 American Livebearer Asssociation Gold
Coast Convention 2012 held at the Hilton Airport Hotel,
Ft. Lauderdale, FL. Featuring: Collecting native & exotic
fish • Aquarium plant & fish farm tour • 21 class all
livebearer show • 7 great speakers • Saturday awards
banquet • Huge vender display • Hospitality room
every night • Giant fish & dry goods auction • Fish
breeders sales tables • Wine tasting benifit party • Live
fish shipping facility. For more information contact:
American Livebearer Association,
Web site: http://livebearers.org/
Forum: http://livebearers.org/modules/newbb/
Gold Coast Aquarium Society, (GCAS)
Web site: http://www.geaquarium.org
Forum: http://geaquarium.org/gcasbb
ALA 2012 Convention Web site:
hhtp://www.ALA2012.com
Questions: question@ALA2012.com
May 25 - 27 The American Killifish Association 50th
Annual Convention. Held in St. Louis, MO on Memorial Day, May 25-27. Over the next several months the
2012 Organizing Committee will reveal its palns for the
convention. We hope to see you there! For updated information regularly visit: http://www.akaorg.convention/2012/
July 11 - 15, 2012 American Cichlid Association 2012 Convention Hosted by the Circle City Aquarium Club For
more information: http://www.aca2012indy.com/
October 18 - 21, 2012 All-Aquarium Catfish
Convention held at the Hyatt Dulles Herndon, VA For
more information: http://catfishcon.com/
FRED BEHRMANN,
KILLIFISH BREEDER LEAVING THE HOBBY
Due to recent injury I am forced to close my
store. Complete aquarium setup in Catskill NY,
available for pick up by appointment. Total operating
setup is 3,500 gallons (280 ten gal. tanks, 9 fifty gal.
tanks, 30, 2.5 gal. tanks). Contact Fred Behrmann at
(518) 945-2290 or better yet,
athensaquatics@mhcable.com.
Total cost $2,500. Thank you, Fred Behrmann
FISH AUCTION?
MEETINGS OPEN TO THE PUBLIC • ATTEND, LEARN, ENJOY AND JOIN
2012 CALENDAR OF EVENTS
• Jan 10 Martha Morris presentsDISCUS THE WOW FACTOR. This meeting
will be held at the home of Joan Snider.
For directions please contact Bob
Hooker. Monthly Auction
• Feb14 TBA Monthly Auction
• Mar 13 TBA Monthly Auction
• Apr 10 TBA Monthly Auction
• May 8 TBA Monthly Auction
Feb. 25-26, 2012 The Michiana Aquarium Society
presents Killifish Karnival 2012, 33rd Annual Midwinter Show & Auction. Location: Niles Inn & Conference Center, 930 S. 11th St. (M51) Nikes Mi. Ph:
269-684-3000. Special room rate $39.
15 CLASSES. AKA sanctioned.
SATURDAY: Judging of fish. SUNDAY: Auction.
For more information Contact Dave Hemmerlien 269353-9585 or Bob McDonnell 574-272-5248 or
Jim Reed 574-234-9986
• May 20 OVAS Spring Auction
• Jun 12 TBA Monthly Auction
• No meetings in July & August
•
•
•
•
Sept 11 TBA Monthly Auction
Oct 9 TBA Monthly Auction
Nov 13 TBA Monthly Auction
Dec 11 Holiday Party
Brian C. Scott OVAS
W
hen I tell people I’m going to a fish auction, then explain what goes
on, they look at me like I’ve lost my mind. When my wife sees how
much I spend at some of these functions she’s sure of it.
It’s always good to see people I haven’t seen in a while. Seeing old
friends and meeting new ones and bidding against them. All the different
fish, some common, some rare. Knowing they were in another hobbyist tank
with that extra care that they don’t receive in the retail end.
The manufactures donations and hand crafted goods can make you
feel like a kid in a candy store. At times the bidding can be fast and furious,
other times goods can be had for a song.
In the end getting something you may or may not need while supporting a sister club and the aquarium hobby all adds up to the allure of fish
auctions.
Once you’ve been to one it’s hard not to plan for the next.
YOUR AD COULD BE HERE
FOR ONLY
25
$
A YEAR, and will help promote
your business to the many dedicated hobbyists in the VT, NY,
NH area, and keep you in mind
when they shop for fish, aquarium
supplies and other small animals
and pet supplies. Lets grow the
hobby together.
For Details call; Bob Hooker at
802 483-6739
5
T
OVAS T-shirts & Polo Shirts
-shirts & polo shirts in light blue with the
OVAS logo on the front of the T-shirts, and
on the upper left side of the polo shirts are
still avaliable. THE SIZES LEFT -T-shirts: 3 medium, 4 large, 4 X-large,
4 2X-large. T-shirts are $14, 3XL are $2 more.
Polo shirts: 3 large, 4 X-large, 4 2X-large 1 3X-large. Polo shirts
are $16 3XL are $2 more.
• Call Bob Hooker at 802 483-6739. He’ll bring the shirts
you order to the next meeting.
Make check to: Otter Valley Aquarium Society.
MEMBERS EXCHANGE
To list items free, send an email to John Todaro at jtoddybas@aol.com. Describe items you have to sell,
trade, or want. Include your name, phone number,
Email address and asking price.
FOR SALE: A wrought iron stand for a 30" X 12"
tank and a wooden stand for a 90 gallon tank.
I would take $5 for the smaller one and $20 for the
larger one. Contact Bob Hooker at 802-483-6739
Your free sale or want or trade ad
coud be here!
All members can run free ads in
the OVAS WaterLine
I
2
I’m working on an article for Aquarium Fish
International and could use your input
have been asked to do an article about mentoring kids
on fish keeping. I need your experiences in what you
have done to get your kids involved in the hobby.
Please contact me with your story either by email or call.
My number is 802 824-3743. My deadline is the end of
2011. I would like to know the following: how you introduced them to the hobby. Did you gone on collecting trips
with them? Did you get them their own tank or get them
books on fish keeping? Do you do tank maintance or go to
fish stores together? Any input would be welcome.
John Todaro
OVAS Membership Dues & Elections 2012
January is the month when we take care of the annual election
of officers & board members and pay our annual membership
dues. When we have a live guest speaker, as we do for January,
we like to keep the business part of the meeting short so we will
be taking care of this right at the beginning.
Individual membership dues are $20 per year and a
family membership is $25. The following people are currently
filling the elected positions and are willing to run again. If you
have questions about the duties and responsibilities of any office
please contact Bob Hooker. Anyone whose dues are current is
welcome to run for any office.
President
Bob Hooker
Vice president
open…
Treasurer
Tom Conway
Secretary
Wenda Curtis
Board Member
Brian Scott
Board Member
Lee Scott
Board Member
John Todaro
We would love to fill the Vice President position this year,
which was left vacant by the death of Mike Blaisdell last May.
It is primarily a back-up position for running the meetings in
case the President is not available.
Benson’s
Pet Center
A Full Line Pet Supply Store
For All of Your Furry, Feathery, and Scaly Needs.
OVAS Members Receive 10% Off Purchase!
www.bensonspet.com
Clifton Park
12 Fire Rd.
518-973-1007
Saratoga
3083 Route 50
518 584-7777
Colonie
197 Wolf Rd
518-495-1738
Queensbury
118 Quaker Rd
518-793-6655
About This Months Speaker & Event
PLEASE NOTE: This months event will take place at the home of Joan Snider.
The meeting will start at 7pm. For directions to her home to attend, please contact
Bob Hooker at (802) 483-673 or by Email at bjhookervt@gmail.com
M
artha Morris began keeping tropical fish as a
very young teen or pre-teen when she had her
first glimpse of a community tank that belonged
to a friend. She immediately became desperate for a tank,
and wouldn’t give it a rest until her mother gave in. This
began a life-long fascination with the hobby, and within a
few years Martha had tanks lining the walls of her room.
She began her breeding experience with livebearers and
before graduating from high school, was breeding Bettas
and selling them to the local pet shop.
Her interest in discus started six
years ago because she had a spare 29 gallon
tank and she wanted to put something
special in it. Further investigations convinced her that the discus was the fish she
wanted, and the owner of the pet shop
assured her that one would do just fine in
that set up. It clearly wasn’t the case,
though, and Martha began researching to
try to discover the reason why her fish
wasn’t thriving. She then found a discus
forum and learned they need the company of
at least five others. She immediately went to the pet store,
bought (another) 55 gallon tank and five more discus.
The original fish was as happy as could be with
the additional company and that began Martha’s adventure
with breeding discus.
Martha has been keeping and breeding discus
intensively since, now out of her fish room in her home in
WHITEHALL
PET & SUPPLY INC.
Monson, MA. She facilitated the spawning and raised the
fry of a number of strains for sale, including: turqs, red
covers, cobalts, browns and blue sapphires. Her interests
also include raising ‘the trilogy of discus tank mates’:
German blue rams, Sterbai cories and bushynose plecos.
She is the editor of the booklet: A Beginner’s
Guide to Getting Started With Discus (http://forum.simplydiscus.com/showthread.php?86009-Beginner-s-Guide-toGetting-Started-with-Discus) and has written two articles
for the publication of the Pioneer Valley Aquarium Society,
the Underwater News. One article addresses
discus keeping generally, and the other
describes her trip of two years ago to
England for the British and International
Discus Keepers’ Association (BIDKA)
show. Martha is also a frequent contributor
to the Simply Discus forum, offering advice
to budding breeders and to those who are
just interested in maintaining a display tank
of discus. She is on the board of directors
of the Pioneer Valley Aquarium Society and
is a member of the New England Cichlid
Association and the Greater Hartford Aquarium Society.
The title of her presentation will be, “Discus in the
Home Aquaria: the Wow Factor.” Martha is a professor of
history and world cultures.
Remember call Bob for directions.
See you at the meeting!
FOR
ALL YOUR
ANTIQUE NEEDS..
.
350 Dorset St.,
S. Burlington, VT 05403
9869 State Rte 4 Whitehall, NY 12887
Tropical Fish,
Birds & Dog Grooming.
Full line of pet supplies and
dog and cat food.
Ph: 802 . 362 . 5447
609 Depot St., P.O. Box 1957
Manchester Center, VT 05255
www.PetsEtcVt.com
Tropical Fish &
Aquarium Supplies
BIRDS, SMALL ANIMALS, & PET SUPPLIES
SPECIAL ORDERS
WELCOMED
10% discount for OVAS members
with current membership card
518-499-1990
Carol & Paula
Hours: Mon - Sat 10 - 6
The Pet
Advantage
Conway’s
Antiques
&
Decor
90 Center Street Rutland VT.
802 775-5153
One of the largest selections
of freshwater and marine fish
in Vermont and a full line of
dry goods for
all you aquarium needs.
with your current
15% discount
OVAS membership card
802-860-1714
Hr: M-F 10am - 8pm •
Sat 10am - 8pm • Sun 11am - 5pm
4
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Fish Profiles ~ John Todaro OVAS
Izzy Zwerin BAS
Bring on the Clowns!
Propagating:
Hygrophilia Salicifolia:
Family: Cobitidae
Common Name: Clown Loach/Tiger Loach
Species: Botia macracantha
Range: Streams in Indonesia, Sumatra and Borneo.
Habits: Peaceful, not as nocturnal as some Botia species.
Size: Up to 7” in aquariums. Up to 12” in the wild.
Water Conditions: Clean, well aerated water.
Temperature: 77˚ to 86˚F
Diet: Omnivorous, live foods, flakes, algae frozen foods.
Determining sex: No known sex difference known.
Breeding: Rarely breed in aquaria.
Remarks: Makes a good community tank fish.
T
his is a great plant with truly an unusual look. I have a specimen of this
plant currently in my 15 gallon tall tank, but it is getting quite big and needs to be
moved to larger quarters. Its common name is the “Willow Leaf Hygro.” As the
name implies it has long strap like leaves which can be either straight or fairly curly. The
leaves are a nice bright green and it has a stiff woody stem which is a reddish brown
color. The plant branches well and will tolerate aggressive pruning.
My 15 gallon tank has very
intense lighting, but this plant
would do well with moderate
light. This aquarium has 96 watt
Compact Fluorescent lighting (Coralife
“Aqualight” Quad which works out
to 6.4 watts per gallon) and CO 2
enrichment. The pH is about 6.8,
temperature is kept at 780 and the
GH runs about 4-60. A Fluval
canister filter (model #104) with the
output being directed through a
submerged spray bar is doing my
filtration. I use the Estimated
Index system of fertilizer dosing.
This means that once a week I perform
a large water change (50-75%). This
is usually done on Saturday. Don’t
worry about the large volume of water
being replaced, as your fish will
love it. This large water change
is necessary to reset the system.
Then on Saturday, Monday and
SCIENTIFIC NAME: Hygrophila salicifolia
COMMON NAME: Willow-leafed Hygrophila
SYN: Hygrophila angustifolia, Ruellia salicifolia
FAMILY: Acanthaceae
RANGE: Australia and Asia; Malaysia, Burma, India,
Sri Lanka.
AQUASCAPE: Middle ground to background.
HEIGHT: To 15" (38 cm)
Wednesday I dose the macronutrients,
and on Sunday, Tuesday and Thursday
I dose the micronutrients. Friday I
take the day off. The lighting is timer
controlled and on for 12 hours a day.
Under these conditions the plant
grows rapidly and requires a great
deal of pruning.
It is a shame that this plant is
not commonly seen in pet shops as it has
a lot going for it. It is not particularly
fussy about the water parameters.
It is fast growing but fairly easy to
keep under control. To propagate it
just take some cuttings and plant
them in the substrate.
WATER: bright
LIGHT: pH: 6.0-7.2; 2-12, 70-81°F (21-27°C)
SUBSTRATE: Plain gravel
PROPAGATION: Cuttings.
REMARKS: Mostly grown emersed, this species does
fine submerged. The longest leaves are produced in
soft water.
T
he Clown Loach is one of the most popular members
of the loach family. They’re boldly marked with
three black vertical bars, red-orange pectoral, pelvic
and anal fins. Small scales give the fish a very smooth
matte finish look.
The Clown Loach like all Botia are bottom
dwellers, and that should be taken into consideration when
setting up an aquarium for them. They are best kept in
groups of 3 to 7 to feel comfortable.
Most loaches are nocturnal, but Clown Loaches,
to some extent, are active during the day. They do like to
hide in clusters of plants and in caves.
Although they are scavengers you should make
sure they get their share of live foods and not be expected
to live off the leftovers of their tank mates.
Clown Loaches are susceptible to Ichthyophthirius and
to counter this problem it’s recommended the temperature
should be kept at 80˚ - 86˚ F and the water should be
slightly alkaline to reproduce natural conditions.
The Clown Loach have rarely spawned in aquaria.
One account claims a spawn in a 35 gallon tank by a group of
6 fish. The tank was planted with 3 large Echinodorus (Amazon
sword plants) and a piece of driftwood. The water chemistry
was pH -6.2 DH - 2.0, nitrite level less than 0.05.
The temperature was 84˚-86˚ F. An outside filter was used
with aquarium peat and polyester filter fiber.
They were feed Tetramin,™ shredded beef heart,
spinach, and shrimp pellets. When the lights were off the
fish would patrol the bottom looking for food. After a few
weeks 10 to 15 fry were discovered in the tank, hiding in
the exposed roots of the plants. Nothing is mentioned
about the survival of the fry.
This is a fish worth keeping for its beauty.
References:
The Encyclopedia of Freshwater Tropical Fishes, H. Axelrod, C. Emmens, W.
Burgess, N. Pronek,
G. Axelrod, TFH Pub. Inc., 1984.
Catfish and Loaches, ADI, No. 46, Werner Nowak, Published by Tetra Press.
Aquarium Fish (Eyewitness Handbooks), Dick Mills, Dorlin Kinersley, 1993
Aquarium Atlas, Dr. Rudiger Riehl, Hans Baensch, Publisher Baensch, 1987